The final part …
Player of the Year
Serahni Athena, SS Mary Rose, Avalon, Atlantis
- In putting her forward for this award, I actually find it really hard to just say one or two things. For a start, she’s incredible to plot with; we’ve built multi-year character arcs together, and a lot of the legwork in that has been on her side. She sees deep into character motivation and is really keen to make sure each character she writes is unique (even if most of them are redheads!).
Secondly, I can tell she cares about the stories as well. Interactions are rarely ‘just because we wanted to put two characters in a room’ but are genuinely thought-out and purposeful. Relationships she writes don’t just magically appear like in a bad fanfiction; they’re nuanced and considered, and rarely alike.
This is not to mention she’s a brilliant writer generally and can write in virtually every genre that I’ve seen!”
- They are always, ALWAYS, super active on any game they’re on. Always looking to create opportunities for everyone around them to write! Whether it’s adding characters, brainstorming plot ideas, taking us all in unexpected directions, Serahni does it all and does so consistently across all the games I’m on with them. The way they write is able to inspire others and the way they communicate with others is always with humour and good intent. Always looking for more stories to chase and to involve others in the shenanigans they came up with. Truly an amazing addition to any game, and I’m very happy that they are on all of the ones I’m on!
Examples
Becca – SS Mary Rose/USS Atlantis/X-Men: Avalon
Becca is more than just a core administrative driving force in this Fleet. She is GM for multiple games, Assistant GM for others, and still finds the time to be one of the most active writers in every space that she is present in. How she manages to deliver accurate, unique, engaging character portrayals when she has a literal Borg Cube’s worth of them is beyond me, but the quality of her writing is only one aspect of what makes her worthy of this award. Becca is a player who persists with creating opportunities for others, who openly invites collaboration and will make time to plot and plan with any writer who expresses a desire for assistance. She is active in every Discord channel she is a member of and regularly checks in with others to make sure they’re traveling okay. Beyond all that, her storytelling is outstanding. Inspired by just about anything, though bonus points if it involves zombies, Becca can switch between personal subplots to major events without breaking a sweat, has been known to play multiple characters in the same post and not get them confused, and consistently shoulders the responsibility for not only tagging responses but driving forward the momentum of the posts she’s in. She is an outstanding member of this community and more than worthy of being considered the Player of the Year.
David K- Obsidian Command)
It’s a total joy to write and storycraft with David. It always has been, but after cultivating our lives outside of simming for a decade, we discovered the collaborative spark is even brighter. It’s as if time and perspective has made pretense and uncertainty surrounding the cooperation melt away! Able to brainstorm and organize well, and manage multiple threads, David is eager to involve anyone he can and to play out both his ideas and the ideas of others, to support the sim’s plot and to build on the settings and lore — all in harmony! He’s also personally invested in supporting OC’s community with sim-level award nominations and conversation, and helped with site content and our sim award system revamp. I didn’t know how much I missed writing together, and I’m so thankful these stars have aligned again.
Spiral – Obsidian Command
Spiral is a breath of fresh air, offering a genuine and fun loving spirit to simming with quick wit, playful solo storylines, and amusing PCs and NPCs. She’s so unassuming, making her an understated gem of a player, who prefers to put the polish on others! Every month she faithfully recommends things to feature and awards for her fellow writers, building up the game and growing everyone’s confidence, and more often than not, she jumps in on invitations for joint posting or a collaborative thread, volunteering to play supporting characters with others. She’s a faithful reader, giving attention to her fellow players and motivating us to tell our stories, because she cares. It’s players like Spiral that make simming a fun and enduring hobby and every game needs the kind of spirit she brings in order to thrive!
Notty- USS Elysium
Notty, or BN as we call her, has shown time and time again the adaptability of her writing. She puts her shy character out there in positions that they obviously do not want to be in and has shown that she can write with nearly every player on our game in one way or another. Be it with our Gorn doctor as Miraj recovers from her injuries, or with S’hib our security officer as she berates him for loosing his cool, or with the Commodore and XO as she tried valiantly to get out of being promoted while trapped in medical. And she continues to play it so well that people are wondering why she is being punished IC with a promotion. Simply put, the player earned it and it gives her more to write about.
Notty is also a presence on our game’s discord server, greeting new players and reaching out to them for Joint posts. I fully believe that she would be a boon to any game, though we horde her because we know what we have.